After years of freezes and unpaid furloughs, state workers and some politicians are getting pay hikes in Oregon.

The Legislature approved $5,000 annual salary hikes starting Jan. 1 for all statewide elected officials, including Gov. John Kitzhaber. State judges are in line for two $5,000 boosts, one for 2014 and one for the following year.

The raises -- and the money to pay for them -- got approved in the hurried final days of the legislative session and are likely to generate some heat in the private sector, where unemployment remains stubbornly high at 7.9 percent. But lawmakers, who kept their own pay in check, defend the higher wages as reasonable and well-earned.

BY JESSICA RIDGWAY | OB CONTRIBUTOR

BY JASON NORRIS, CFA | OB GUEST BLOGGER

Pets.com, GeoCities, eToys, and WorldCom … blasts-from-the-past that all signify the late 1990s Internet bubble. Yet we believe the dynamics of the market, specifically in technology stocks, are much different today than it was during the late 1990s.

BY JACOB PALMER | OB DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR

BY NISHANT BHAJARIA | OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Startups in the growth phase are associated with a fresh infusion of capital — human and financial — a curiosity factor and products to disrupt the market and drive demand. Portland’s economy gives off the same aroma.

Brand Stories

BY KATRINA WALKER

Generations of students and graduates have been plagued by the question: What is my true calling in life? Four alumni from Corban University’s Hoff School of Business who graduated in different decades say the school helped them find the answer by giving them a practical, well-rounded education.

It’s happening whether anyone’s ready or not. Businesses here in Oregon and across the U.S. are already experiencing the effects of the largest generational shift in recent history, and these changing tides will impact every level of the workplace — from a company’s executive leadership to its cultural core.

The Oregon Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services, will be hosting it’s Annual Dinner and Keynote event on March 12, 2015. The evening promises to be memorable, with this years Keynote, Christine McKinley.